The wine making process is very involved. Great care is taken to ensure that the process is hygienic. These processes follow food grade standards. All equipment is sterilized to prevent contamination. The product is protected from contact with other gases and liquids which will contaminate the product and spoil the wine.
Once wine is ready for packaging or bottling the product is transferred from a barrel or vat into individual containers, vessels or bottles that are practical for transport or consumption by commercial or retail purchasers. The containers must be sealed to prevent the wine from escaping or from air entering the bottle. Exposure to oxygen will cause wine to degrade, and prolonged exposure will eventually ruin the wine rendering it unfit for human consumption.
The primary concerns of the wine industry is sealing the vessel to prevent the wine from encountering oxygen post bottling using practical, cost effective measures, and maintaining consumer interest in their product. It is very important to seal the vessel hermetically. There are two prevailing methods of sealing vessels one of which is using a cylindrical shaped stopper, and the other is to use a screw top stopper. Both have positive and negative aspects.
For the purposes of this document a stopper is anything preventing the passage of any fluid through or around its static position.
Generally stopper material is cork, plastic, composite or metal depending on the application and the needs of the wine producer.
Wine producers and their marketers currently have limited marketing options when differentiating between the varieties of wine available. There are clear and colored bottles with a variety of shapes and designs. Some bottles have an obscure form. Some bottle necks are typical while others are sleek and contemporary in shape. Typically stoppers are used to create a high integrity seal between the media contained within the bottle and the outside environment.
There is a selection of stopper styles ranging from cork and composite cork stoppers to stoppers made from plastics or metals such as aluminum. The cork and plastic stoppers are sometimes branded or heat embossed to label the surface since printing is not easily accomplished. FIG. 1 illustrates a traditional stopper with a heat embossed label. Surface printing in single color or multiple colors process on cork stoppers is generally not attempted, since the ink used is generally not food grade. Even if food grade ink is used, there exist concerns of possible negative health effects as well the negative effect on the chemistry of the wine. Thus, marketers are limited to the outside of the containment vessel for the most practical means of delivering their message. The most widely used method of marketing material is bottle labeling. Labels are the most popular form of marketing in that they allow for an inexpensive versatile and effective means of delivering a specific branding or marketing message.